Jacksonville needs to review consolidation, says new council president

Jacksonville City Council President Bill Gulliford wants a citizen task force to meet into next year studying what works and what doesn’t about Jacksonville’s consolidated form of government.

“I don’t think in 45 years we’ve actually taken a good, hard look,” Gulliford said. “Nothing should be left alone and not reviewed from time to time.”

Subjects for review could range from the power of independent authorities to the size of the 19-member council.

Gulliford said during an installation ceremony at City Hall Friday that Councilwoman Lori Boyer will chair a task force of up to 30 people who will be asked to recommend changes that could require legislation or votes by the public in 2015.

“Nothing should be sacred,” Gulliford said, adding that basic premises of consolidation should be rechecked.

He said he wants Mayor Alvin Brown’s office to be part of the talks as well.

Task force members haven’t been named yet.

The group should be assembled by early or mid-August and spend nine months studying effects of the system voters approved in 1967 to consolidate the city’s government with that of Duval County.

“I think it could be a very, very significant exercise. I think it could have great benefit to the community,” Gulliford said.

Gulliford and Boyer met Thursday to talk about the task force. Gulliford said he expects to talk again in mid-July, after the council’s traditional summer break.

Right on Cowford! You understand exactly what all of this is about. There really isn't a problem with the form or structure of the government - it is the people who run the government. There was an improvement in government immediately following consolidation, probably due more to heightened public awareness and real news coverage at the time.

But all it amounted to was replacing one group of crooked puppets with another group, and successfully prevented Jacksonville from electing a black mayor and/or majority black council. Funny how the boosters omit this little bit isn't it? And this was the issue that probably pushed passage of consolidation more than any other.

I was born here and this just don't see a very good idea to try to change things that are not broken,I was 13 years when the city consolidated this city and to me and other at the time was a great idea. Why and how this came up leave one to think that there are other reason behind this, hope that it can and still have very good insight on the benefit for the community all over Jacksonville.

"Cowford", calm down! Take a pill! I like some of those folks, and don't mind a lot of things which make them even more affluent and successful. I do mind it when they don't like the things which do the same for me.

Here you go, the first in a series of ideas from dumb people who think they are smart. And of course the idea comes from the two council members that live two steps off the ocean and in a nice San Marco mansion.

Neither have any idea of how the rest of us live.

This committee will of course be comprised of friends of Jacksonville's small elite crowd who will bestow their opinions as if the lord himself came here and said it. And low and behold, the committee findings will of course benefit the likes of Peter Rummell, The Haskell Company, Paul Harden, Toney Sleiman, Shad Khan, and others.

Consolidated government works when the people we elect simply follow the charter and don't do stupid things like hire your own lawyer, neglect every other neighborhood in an effort to make money downtown, fund our football team over libraries, fire stations, police officers, and parks and run this city in 2013 on a 1984 tax rate.

The question should not be "does consolidation work??" It should be "do we elect the right people to run it??"